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Just Dance Wiki:English Language Guide
Basically, this is a guide to help with language formation such that the Wiki is kept as grammatically sound as possible. Should there be any modifications needed, feel free to edit this Guide. When in doubt, consult this Guide when forming sentences. Note that grossly ungrammatical edits may be deleted if necessary. If there are any specific requests regarding grammar issues, feel free to post it on the Talk Page and I will get to adding information :) Adjectives When using a series of adjectives to describe a single object, follow the order as stated below: #Quantity or number of #Quality or opinion #Size #Age #Shape #Color #Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin, or material) #Purpose or qualifier Followed by the object/subject. Also, when there are two or more adjectives that are from the same group, the word and should be placed between the two adjectives, and a comma ( , ) should be placed between multiple adjectives from the same group, with the and only used between the last two adjectives. Example There were five clean huge three-year-old rectangular green',' orange and pink Chinese shelving units. Of course, not all 8 groups of adjectives have to be used to describe a single object. Such is the case with the following: There were five huge rectangular shelving units. Ampersand ( & ) Ampersands should be avoided in use as much as possible if they are to replace and. Exceptions include, of course, proper nouns like book or song titles with & ''in them. Alot It's not ''alot. It's a lot if you are trying to say "a lot of ______". This a lot translates to many, or one lot of something. Allot is a different word which means to assign, e.g. time allotted. alot (without the space) is not a word. Alright It's not alright. It's all right if you are trying to say "We are all right" or "This song is all right". "All right" can also mean okay or It's all good. "Alright" is not a word as "alright" and "all right" don't follow the same rules as "already" and "all ready". Using the word "alright" is considered slang and bad grammar. Note this does not apply to proper nouns such as songs of the same name or lyrics quoted directly from the Just Dance games. Articles Should you use a'', ''an ''or ''the in a sentence? a'' ''a ''is strictly used for one noun, or one collective noun (like ''group). It is also used mostly with words starting with consonants, with a few exceptions (like unicorn - you don't say an unicorn ''because the ''u ''is pronounced). For example, ''I have '''a' friend coming over tonight'', I have '''a' group of friends coming over tonight'', and My friend is '''a' unicorn!'' an an ''is also strictly used for a single noun or one collective noun (like ''area). It is also used mostly with words starting with vowels, with a few exceptions (like honor - you don't say a honor ''because of the silent ''h). For example, I have '''an' answer to this problem'', I own '''an' area of corn crop'', and It is such '''an' honor to meet you!'' the the ''can be used for multiple items and multiple collective nouns. It can be used with words standing with constants ''or ''vowels. Another condition for ''the ''to be used is that the subject or object it is used for has already been established. For example, 'The' schools of fish in my tank are dying!, 'The' oddity of this scenario is that no one is alive'', A: ''The 'chocolates you gave me are delicious! What are they made of? ''B: Poop., and 'The '''same thing over and over again. Consonant/Vowel Exceptions Essentially, all words with a silent h ''followed by a vowel, and all words with a ''u ''pronounced as ''yew are exempted from the normal rule. But/However ''But and however mean relatively the same thing. However, there are rules as to how you should use them. '''But should only be used in the middle of a sentence. (e.g. I wanted to go, '''but' my parents didn't let me.) '''However', however, can be used virtually anywhere in a sentence, as long as the context makes sense. (For example, However', I couldn't go.; I wanted to go; '''however' I couldn't.;'' Though I wanted to go, I couldn't go '''however'.) Take note, though, that '''how ever' and however cannot exactly be used interchangeably. Commas or Dashes Any information between two commas or two dashes (not to be confused with hyphens) is considered to be "extra" and should not affect the rest of the sentence. Basically, to see what should come after the comma or dash, strip off the entire chunk of information between the commas or dashes. For example: * A''' - a girl - is thin. (You wouldn't say ''A''' - a girl - she is thin.) * '''Ben', with the boys over there, is going to the restaurant. (You shouldn't say ''Ben,' '''with the boys over there, are going to the restaurant.) Oxford Comma As this Wiki follows American spelling and grammar, Oxford commas are generally used in front of the word and to separate terms, for example Just Dance 2014, Just Dance 2015, and Just Dance 2016. Common Language Errors have ''or ''of Don't use might of, could of, should of etc.; they're not grammatically correct. The correct phrase is might have, could have, should have ''(respectively). ''me, myself ''and ''I * Use I '''as the subject, and '''me '''as the object. For example, ''I''' am going somewhere and ''Jim is going somewhere with '''me'. '' ** An easy way to figure out whether to use me ''or ''I ''is this: Take out any other names in the clause. *** For example, ''Jim and I are am going to New Zealand. and Jim and me are is going to New Zealand. By removing Jim and, and switching the verb to whatever's relevant, you can see that the latter sounds "off". *** Conversely, My mom is bringing my brother and I to Australia. ''and ''My mom is bringing my brother and me to Australia. By removing my brother and, you can see that the former is ungrammatical. * Use myself '''when referring to yourself in a polite or more formal manner. For example, say ''Be '''myself instead of ''Be '''me'!'', ''I love '''myself instead of I love '''me'!.'' their, they're, there * Their '''is a possessive pronoun and indicates that two or more people own something, as in ''Their''' cat is a munchkin.'' ** Similarly, theirs works almost the same way. For example, The munchkin cat is '''theirs'.'' * They're 'is a contraction for ''they are. For example, ''They're (They are) going to London.'' * '''There '''indicates position. For example, ''The cherry tree is over '''there!'' ** There '''also works as a statement word, as in, ''There are fifty apple trees in the orchard!'' your, you're * '''Your '''is a possessive pronoun and indicates that the person you are having the conversation with owns something. For example, ''Your cat is so cute!'' ** '''Yours '''works in a similar way. For example, ''A:' Is that cat '''yours'? B: No, it is yours!'' * You're 'is a contraction for ''you are. For example, ''You're (You are) sick!'' Comparatives and Superlatives Comparatives are words such as better ''which take a step of magnitude past the root adjective (i.e. ''good). Superlatives are words such as ''best ''which take an even further step of magnitude past the rood adjective. Usage Basically, assuming '''A '''is good, '''B '''is better and '''C '''is the best of the three, you wouldn't say ''B is more good than '''A or 'C '''is the best than '''A'. Instead, the following are correct: 'B '''is better than '''A', and 'C '''is even better than '''A', or 'C' is the best compared to A'.'' ''Fewer or Less Fewer ''is used for countable nouns (see below). ''Less ''is used for uncountable nouns (see further below). ''Lesser ''isn't used as frequently as ''Less - you wouldn't say lesser gas ''or ''lesser water, as much as you would say less gas ''or ''less water. Words without comparatives/superlatives For these words, like joyous and intelligent, more and most ''are used as the step of magnitude. For example, in a formal case, you wouldn't say ''joyouser ''and ''intelligenter or joyousest ''and ''intelligentest. You would, instead, say ''more''' joyous (''than) or the ''most intelligent. This also works conversely with ''less ''and ''least (''less joyous''; ''least intelligent''). Countable and Uncountable Nouns There are two main types of nouns: countable ''nouns and ''uncountable ''nouns. Countable Nouns Countable nouns are nouns which can have ''a, an ''or a number in front of them, like ''queen and water fountain. (Collective) nouns like group ''and ''liter ''can also be used to make uncountable nouns "countable". For example, ''a queen, an addiction, a liter of kerosene. Uncountable Nouns Uncountable nouns are nouns which cannot be, in linguistic terms, counted. These nouns include water, sand and rice. However, (collective) nouns like group ''and ''liter ''can be used to make these nouns "countable". For example, ''water not waters ''(the latter refers to ''bodies of water), ice not ices (the latter may refer to multiple types of ice), but a cube of ice and a jug of water.